Citi Cutting Approximately 3,400 Technology and Operations Jobs

Citigroup it is cutting 11,000 jobs worldwide, about 4 percent of its staff, to save as much as $1.1 billion a year in expenses.

Dec 5 Citigroup Inc, which has lagged
behind its peers in recovering from the financial crisis, said
it is cutting 11,000 jobs worldwide, about 4 percent of its
staff, to save as much as $1.1 billion a year in expenses.

The move will initially result in pre-tax charges of $1
billion against fourth-quarter earnings, the bank said on
Wednesday.

The cuts are Chief Executive Michael Corbat's first major
steps to reorganize the company since he took the reins in
October after directors pushed out his predecessor, Vikram
Pandit.

"We have identified areas and products where our scale does
not provide for meaningful returns," Corbat said in a statement
issued by the company. "We will further increase our operating
efficiency by reducing excess capacity and expenses."

The job cuts are part of a reorganization that will reduce
annual revenues by "less than $300 million," the statement said.

Citigroup shares rose nearly 4 percent to $35.62 in New York
Stock Exchange trading shortly after the enouncement.

Analysts have expected action of this sort since Corbat was
introduced as CEO by Chairman Michael O'Neill. O'Neill is known
in the banking industry for shrinking companies to eliminate
businesses that are not earning satisfactory returns.

The job cuts announcement came a few hours before Citigroup
Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach was scheduled to speak at
midday at a major conference of institutional investors.

About 35 percent of the fourth-quarter restructuring charges
will be taken in the global consumer banking unit, where 6,200
jobs will be cut, the bank said. About 40 percent of those
layoffs will be in technology and operations support areas.

The bank expects to sell or scale back consumer operations
in Pakistan, Paraguay, Romania and Uruguay. As it continues to
focus on 150 high-growth markets, it plans to shed 84 branches
in five countries, more than half of them in the United States.

After the restructuring, the bank will have 4,000 branches
around the world.

When the company changed CEOs, O'Neill said executives would
continue Citigroup's strategy of paring back to operate core
businesses more efficiently. The strategy has included
emphasizing business in rapidly growing urban areas.

About 25 percent of the restructuring charges will be taken
in the bank's investment and corporate banking businesses, and
10 percent in transaction services. Some 1,900 jobs are to be
cut from those areas, with more than half coming from operations
and technology functions that support the businesses.

Another 25 percent of the charges are for reworking
corporate and miscellaneous other functions. About 2,600 jobs
are being eliminated from corporate support services, global
functions, real estate and the Citi Holdings portfolio of
troubled assets that the company is shedding.